Chennai, June 15 (PTI): DMK president M. Karunanidhi today alleged lapses in the treatment of Union minister Murasoli Maran at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and the Apollo Hospitals here.

Karunanidhi demanded a central inquiry into the matter. The hospitals, however, insist that Maran was given the “best possible” treatment.

Karunanidhi said the condition of Maran — undergoing treatment at a US hospital for the last seven months — worsened a week ago.

He alleged that a fungus infection had developed while the minister was being treated at AIIMS after a heart surgery. By the time he was shifted to the US from Apollo, Maran had become totally paralysed.

The DMK chief said he would be writing to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and added that he has spoken to Union minister of state for health and family welfare A. Raja about conducting a probe.